Support for contact-rails



Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

INI/ENTOR IAA E ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT B. TAYLOR, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB. TO GENERAL RAILWAYSIGNAL COMBANY, OF GATES, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION; O1? NEW YORK.

Leanser.,

Application filed September 21, 1915.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, HERBERT B. TAYLOR, acitizen of the United States, and resident of the city of Rochester, inthe county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new anduseful Support for Contactftails, of which the following is aspecilication.

This invention relates to supports for contact rails or ramps, moreparticularly to supports for contact rails of light construction whichare used in automatic train control systems.

ln certain systems for automatically controlling railway trains, thecommunication between the moving train and the apparatus arranged along`the trackway necessary for the operation of the system is obtained bythe coperation of a contact shoe or similar device carried by the trainwith cpntact rails or ramps fixed along the trackway. These contactrails or ramps are ordinarily of light construction and are generallysupported in some way upon the ties of the track. It is important thatthe alinement and the relative position of the contact rails and thetrack rails should be accurately maintained in order that the eiliciencyof the contact between. the shoe on the train and the contact rails maynot be impaired. For this reason, the means for supporting' the contactrails must be of suflicient rigidity to prevent the contact rails frombeing dis placed by ordinary forces to which they are likely to besubjected. Also, it is desirable to support the Contact rails directlyfrom the track rails, since the ties may not always retain their correctposition relatively tothe track rails.

One of the principal objects `ofthis invention is to devise a simple,cheap, and durable support for contact rails or ramps which will providefor the proper insulation of the ramp, which `will maintain a certainrelative correspondence between the contactrail and the Jtrack rails,and which can be easily and quickly secured in place orv adjusted.

Other objects and advantagesgwill appear as the description of theinventlon progresses, and the novel features of the invention will beparticularly pointed out inthe appended claims. I

With the above and other objects, in View, the invention .consists in.the parts, and, in the assassiner-ts aedlombnatisa @frettaSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 19.20.

Serial No. 51,792.

which will be set forth more fully hereinafter.`

In describing the invention in detail, reference is had to theaccompanying drawing, wherein I have illustrated a preferred physicalembodin'ient of my invention, and wherein like characters ofreferencedesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and inwhich:

Figure l is a side view of a support for contact rails or rampsembodying the invention, the track rail, the contact rail, and parts ofthe support being shown in section for the sake of clearness; Fig. 2 isan end view of the support shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end view of asupport for contact rails embodying the invention and showing a slightlymodified construction; Fig. 1. is a detail plan view showing the meansby which the modified form of support is clamped to the track rail; andFig. is a side view ofthe modified form of support, the contact rail andthe track rail being shown in section.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the support for the contact rail comprises abracket B which is secured to a track rail T of ordinary constructionhaving a head 5, a web 6 and bottom fianges 7. The bracket B comprises aweb 8 and integral upper and lower flanges 9 and 10 respectively; andthe inner end of the bracket B, that is, the end adjacent to the trackrail T is formed with npends hooked over the opposite flange 7 of thetrack rail T, the other ends of said; bolts 14; being screw-threaded andbeing each provided with two nuts 15 arranged in locking relation.

The outer end of the bracket B is formed with a horizontal scat 16 andan upright flange-17 extending along one side ofsaid seat `16. A bar 18of wood or other suitable insulating` material rests on. the seat 16Iand is fastened to the flange 17 by a bolt 19, a washer 20 beinginterposed between the head of said bolt 19 and the outer side of thebar 18. The contact rail R, which in this instance is shown as a flatbar or strip reetangular in cross section, is arranged edgewise'in alongitudinal groove in the upper face of the insulating bar 18, andisheld in place by a metal pin21 passing through a transverse hole insaidinsulating bar 18 and through a mating hole in the contact rail R. Thespaces between the ends of the pin 21 andthe flange .17 of the bracket Band the washer 20 are filled with a suitable insulating material, sothat the pin 21 cannot work endwise and make electrical contact with theflange 17 or with the washer 20.

In practice, several of the brackets B hereinbefore described areclamped to the track rail T at suitable intervals and the bar 18 issecured to each of said brackets. Ordinarily the contact vrails or rampsfor automatic traincontrol systems slope gradually downward to theirends in order that the contact between the shoes carried by the trainsand the contact rails may be made without undue shock; and when thecontact rails are supported by vsupports embodying this invention, it iscontemplated that some of the brackets B will be made of dierent shapesso as to support the different portions of the contact rails atdifferent heights relatively to the track rail Ty and thereby obtain thenecessary inclination or slope for the ends of the contact rails. Theinsulating bar 18 serves t0 tie the brackets B together so that they arenot likely to twist from the track rail.

In the modified construction shown in Figs. 8, 4 and 5, the bracket B1comprises aV web 22 and upper and lower integral flanges 23 and 24,respectively. The inner end of the bracket Bl is formed with a jawlikegroove or recess shaped to receive one of the flanges 7 of the trackrail T, the upper flange 23V extending along the edge of said jaw-likegroove and being shaped to constitute upper and lower faces 25 and 26,respectively,'whichv are arranged to bear against the upper face of theflange 7 and the under side of the track rail T. The inner end of thebracket B1 extends beyond the edge of ,the opposite flange 7 and isformed with' a rectangular recess 27 opening upwardly and having aninclined face 28. AV clamping member 29 is shaped to enter the Arecess27 and has one face thereof beveled to correspond with the' inclinedface 28 vof said `recess 27, the opposite face of the clamping member 29touching the edge of the adjacent flange 7 of the track rail T. A bolt30 extends vertically through theclamping member 29 and through thebracket B1; and when said bolt 30 is tightened, said clamping member 29is forced downwardly into the recess 27 and also toward the flange 7 ofthe track rail T.

The outer end of the bracket B1 is formed with a horizontal seat 31 anda-n upright integral flange 32 which extends along said seat at one sidethereof. Resting on the seat 31 is a bar 33 of wood or other suitableinsulating material, which is fastened to the flange 32 by a bolt 34.The contact rail R1, which in this instance is shown as ay piece of flatiron rectangular in cross section, is bolted or riveted to the upper endof an auxiliary bracket or support 35; and said auxiliary bracket 35 isfastened by a vertical bolt 36 to the bar 33.

In practice it is contenlplated that several brackets B1 will be clampedto the track rail T at intervals and that the bar 33 will be fastened toeach of said brackets. The ramp R1 is supported on the bar 33 by theauxiliary brackets 35 which may be spaced at intervals as close togetheras is necessary to obtain the desired rigidity of construetion. Then thebolt 30 of each bracket Bl is tightened the clamping` member 2S) isforced downwardly and toward the [lange 7 of the track rail T, andconsequently thc whole bracket B1 is moved transversely of saidtrackrail, the coperation of the faces 25 and 2G with the upper face ofthe flange 7 and the under side of the track rail T causing` the bracketto grip the track rail tightly.

The ramp supports hereinbefore described can be easily and quicklyattached to the track rails, and also can be easily adjusted. Theinsulation of the ramp from the supports and the track rail T isafforded by the wooden bar 18 suiiiciently for the low differences ofpotential between said ramp and the track rail used in automatic traincontrol systems; lbut obviously other insulating materials, such asmolded porcelain and the like may be used instead of the bar 18; and, ifdesired, a single block may be used l'or each support. Since the ramp issecured to the track rail, the exact correspondenfus between the rampand the track rails is maintained at all times regardless of the slightweaving and displacement of the track rails and ties which occurs underpractical conditions.- The bolts of the ramp supports hereinbeforedescribed are provided with lock nuts or lock washers, and the parts aremade of a solid and substantial construction so that the brackets arenot likely to break or work loose.

While the ramp has been shown in the accompanying drawings as the flatpiece of iron, the ramp may be an angle iron or other suitable shapewithout departing from the invention or the particular physicalembodiment thereof shown and described. Also,

of the ramp supports shown are believed to ll (l lll() make the supportslight and at the same time strong, it should be understood that suitablevariations may be made in the exact proportions and shapes of the partsand in the arrangements of these parts without departing from theinvention.

Although I have particularly described the construction of one physicalembodiment of my invention, and explained the operation and principlethereof; nevertheless, I desire to have it understood that the formselected is merely illustrative, but does not exhaust the possiblephysical embodiments of the idea of means underlying my invention. Y

WhatI claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

l. In a support for contact rails a bracket provided With a javv shapedto receive the flange of a track rail and to provide a clear ancebetween the jaW and one edge of said fiange said jaw being adapted toengage the upper face of one flange of the track rail and the lower faceof the track rail near the other' flange thereof, means including ascrew threaded member associated With the bracket and adapted to bearagainst the outer edge of the other flange of the track rail, said meansacting upon a tightening thereof to Wedge the bracket bodily againstopposite faces of the flanges of the track rail to cause it to betightly clamped thereon, and a block of insulating material secured tosaid bracket and adapted to support the contact rail.

2. In a support for contact rails, a bracket provided with a jaw shapedto receive the flange of a track rail, one side of said jaw beingarranged to bear against the upper face of one of the flanges of thetrack rail, the other side of said jaw being arranged to bear againstthe bottom face of the track rail near the other flange thereof, a blockcarried by the bracket and positioned to bear against the outer edge ofsaid other flange, means includinof a screw threaded member for movingthe block longitudinally of the bracket and transversely of the trackrail, and an insulating member secured to the bracket and adapted tosupport a contact rail.

3. In a support for contact rails, the` eomi bination With track rail,of a bar 0f insulating material supported from the track rail andextending parallel thereto, metallic supports fastened to said bar atintervals, and a Contact rail fastened to said supports.

4. In a support for contact rails, a bracket provided With a jaw shapedto receive the flange of a track rail, one side of said jaw beingarranged to bear against the upper face of one of the flanges of thetrack rail, the other side being arranged to bear against the bottomface of the track rail near the other flange thereof, said jaw beingshaped to form a clearance space between the firstmentioned fiange andthe bracket to permit of movement of the bracket bodily relatively tothe track rail, the end of the bracket opposite the jaw being formedwith a recess having one of its sides inclined, a block fitting in saidrecess and having one of its sides beveled to fit against the inclinedside of said recess, screw threaded means for lWedging said blockbetween the secondmentioned fiange of the track rail and said bracket,and thereby moving the bracket bodily transversely of the track rail tocause the bracket to be tightly clamped thereto, and a block ofinsulating material secured to said bracket and adapted to support aContact rail.

HERBERT B. TAYLOR.

